About George W. Wilson, Jr.

In losing George, we have lost one of our own. George was an integral member of the Bergeson & Campbell and The Acta Group teams for almost 16 years. Not a single consequential decision regarding information technology and financial management was made without George's input and advice. Our organizations are successful because of George's creativity, brilliance, and business acumen.

Since George's death, we have reflected on exactly when George was adopted by our firm. I recall the very first time I saw George. I was struck by his height, sure George was a big guy, but I was also struck by his "larger than life-ness." Everything about George was big. He had big wild hair, he had a big, expressive and totally infectious smile, and a passion and zest for life that was all consuming. George's intellect was big. In fulfilling the CIO and CTO functions for Bergeson & Campbell, George's technical abilities in addressing information technology and accounting functionalities were truly awesome. I seldom had the faintest idea what George was taking about when he tried patiently to explain the technical underpinnings of his genius—what I referred to as "George-speak." All I cared about was that it worked—George could always fix a problem, and he always did so with relish, energy, and flair. In stressful situations, a not uncommon event in a law firm, George always did so with good cheer and unfailing commitment.

George's intellect also caused him often to engage in the substance of what it is we do. I had countless conversations with George on nanotechnology. In filming a webcast, George would often linger after the event and talk not about the audio quality of the production, but about the issues we addressed in our program. George had a thirst for knowledge and was curious about everything.

George had a big heart. His compassion, sensitivity, and palpable sense of caring for the people he knew and worked with was a core part of his being. George was a personal friend to everyone at the firm because he always took the time to engage with us on a personal level.

Finally, George had a passion for all things, but especially all things electronic, musical, and, as his Twitter feed reveals, many other things. If you have a minute, George's Twitter feed goes back to 2009 and reading it is a true slice of George. His feed leaves no doubt, for example, on his views of Obama Care, the quality of Verizon Business service, and dozens of other topics.

Lynn L. BergesonManaging Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.

George is one of a few visionaries who started Information Technology Alliance (ITA), a pre-eminent and highly-regarded association for IT professionals. In 1997, he helped recruit me to be the Executive Director and help them launch and grow ITA. He is an ITA Board Member Emeritus and continued to be very active and involved. A Friend. We became instant friends when we met. George never met a person who didn't become a friend. Our friendship grew to be close overtime and eventually included our spouses. A Visionary. He saw things no one else could see or at least in the detail that he saw them. A Pacesetter. He acted on his visions and became the pacesetter who led others by sharing what he knew. A Contributor. If something needed to be done, he'd pitch in! And, if more people were needed, he found them! "No" just wasn't a word in his vocabulary. A Character. George believed in having fun and was one of the most playful, fun loving individuals I ever met. He was always bigger than "life": the big smile, the crazy hair, the pranks, and the fun he stimulated for others to join in. I keep pictures of George visible to remind me of him and to make me "smile". A Scholarship in his honor is a wonderful tribute! He created a path for talented people now and for generations to follow!

Jo Ann Benzer
Executive Director, Information Technology Alliance

Over the almost 20 years of my friendship with George, I found that he never ceased to amaze me. His expansive knowledge of business, technology, music, and photography was a continual source of business guidance, inspiration, and fun.

I could count on George to have an answer, though not always the answer I wanted. With the ease of switching from manual to automatic on a camera, George provided accounting advice and then resolved issues with my MacBook. Inevitably, at the end of having patiently walked me through the steps to solve my problem, he would blurt out a question that was on his mind, along the lines of "...so why did I think Apple continued exclusively white power cords".

Yes, George was an accountant with a Mac.

Ingrid Hansen
Figg's Ordinary
A Gluten and Refined Sugar Free Bakery

I met George in June of 1997. Being a fellow Marylander it was interesting that we met in Phoenix, Arizona. It was as one might suspect, an IT conference that was being hosted by Microsoft. George was not easy to forget and I have not since that day. He was one of the old guard of ITA to recruit me into the ranks immediately and it was there, through membership and sharing time on the ITA board that I deepened my relationship and friendship with George which would endure.

George's passion for IT was evident in almost every interaction with him. He would ask and share advice, offer help or a different strategy and get excited about his latest IT toy. When IT was the topic there was never such a thing as a brief conversation with George!

George created a powerful legacy wrapped around his desire to give of himself. As we celebrate George's life I continue to learn from George's family, friends and clients how selfless he was in offering help to those blessed to be in his circle.